Sweet Potato Beer Biscuits With Maple Sage Butter

I never saw them on my Thanksgiving table or at Sunday dinner. They just didn’t exist in my world. Until one chilly afternoon in College when I stopped by the dorm room of a Souther friend of mine who had just pulled a Sweet potato, covered in butter and brown sugar out of the microwave. She was nuts. A Vegetable with sugar on it? I couldn’t get over how strange it was to enjoy a vegetable as if it was some kind of dessert. She offered me a bite, and my instinct to recoil was overtaken by my overwhelming curiosity. I was hooked.

I shocked at how much I love it. It was a comfort food, and it was a vegetable. Biscuits, made from scratch, are a bit the same. Although I didn’t grow up with anything other than a biscuit from a tube with a fear inducing opening method, those always seemed amazing to me. Another incredible comfort food.

And the beer isn’t just here for the novelty of it. Beer is a mild leavening agent, giving this biscuits a lighter, more tender texture. For this recipe, I like a Hefeweizen or a Pumpkin Ale.

Pierce the sweet potato all over. Microwave on high until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to work with. Remove and discard skin, add sweet potato to a bowl (should be about 3/4 cup of sweet potato mash).

Add the beer to the sweet potatoes and using a potato masher, stir and mash until completely combined.

In a bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Mix to combine.

Add the butter cubes and using your fingers or a pastry blender, rub the butter into the flour until completely combined.

Add the sweet potato beer mixture and mix until just combined.

Form dough into a ball and place on a lightly floured surface. Form into a square, about 1 1/2 inches high, and about 1 foot long. Cut into square biscuits. Place on a baking sheet covered with a Silpat or parchment paper. Brush with melted butter.

Bake at 425 for 15-18 minutes.

In a small bowl, add the maple syrup ingredients and stir until combined.

So funny – I don’t think I had my first sweet potato until after I lived on my own and now I love them – prefer them over regular potatoes. And these biscuits…totally drooling. And the butter, I want to bathe in it. Amazing, Jackie!

My love for both sweet potatoes and biscuits did not start until after college when I moved to NC where both are very abundant. This recipe is just perfect and I can’t wait to pick out some nice pumpkin beer for added flavor 🙂 Thanks!

“fear inducing opening method” – I’m glad I’m not the only one! This made me chuckle. These sound/look delicious… I wish I had more time to cook everything you make! I love it when I see a new post of yours pop up in my rss feed/email! Great work, Jackie!!

What is it with the scary refrigerator roll tubes? They freak me out more and more as I get older. The worst are the duds that don’t pop when you peel the label and you have to take a spoon to it knowing it could pop any second.

I never had sweet potatoes growing up…except for when they showed up on the table at Thanksgiving in the form of a mushy marshmallow-topped casserole…not exactly super appetizing! I love them now though.